Blinded Suffering
by mystic night92
Summary: What if the roles are switched? Gale is reaped instead of Katniss and he's whisked off to the Games with . . . some other girl, who secretly loves Gale and intends to declare it to him at the Capitol. Please R&R, reated T for language and mild actions.
1. Chapter 1: The Reaping

**Chapter 1: The Reaping**

**Gale POV**

So yeah, today was reaping day . . . again. Luckily for me, it'd be my last available year, since I was at 18 years old. Unluckily for me, I had 42 slips of paper in that stinking glass ball. I couldn't let my little brother sign up for any tesserae, no matter what it meant could happen to me. Either way, it meant more chance for me and less chance for my brother to be picked and sent to the dreaded Capitol, and I knew no matter what happened, there was no getting out of this and I told myself to get it together and just bear with it. And with that in mind, I got dressed in the stiff, "fancy" clothes my mom laid out for me and made myself presentable. My mother rushed us out the door like we would be late but we arrived at the district's square with at least twenty minutes to spare.

We signed in and I was pushed towards the roped area with the eighteen-year-olds. _Pig pens, _I thought. The roped off areas reminded me so much of pig pens. And they were. We were the pigs, the helpless children to be chosen and sent off somewhere to be slaughtered and eaten for entertainment. Okay, maybe not the eaten part but we were going to be _their_ entertainment. The show of the year for the Capitol, the Hunger Games.

I looked to my right at the sixteen-year-olds searching the heads for just one, Katniss Everdeen. And when I found her, I stared at her with all my might like that was the last time I'd ever see her. And it might be, if one of us were sent to the Capitol that year. _Stop it Gale, don't think about it, you really want to say goodbye to Katniss now, of all times, on your last available year for reaping, brickhead, _my mind mentally chided me on thinking such thoughts. I was about to turn away from Katniss when she must have felt me staring at her. She turned her head to me and stared at me with those wide eyes of hers . . . then I tore my eyes from her. Would she be picked? I didn't know, she had twenty slips in there, **twenty**! Mayor Undersee was walking up so I directed my attention at him.

He recited the whole story of Panem, the history of the Hunger Games, blah blah blah. I didn't listen to any of that crap. It was all so stupid, anyways. Why? Why should we be thankful to be forced to be chosen, sent to somewhere in the middle of nowhere, and be forced to fight to the death? Before I knew that the "game" was all about killing, I used to call it the battle of the best. Now that I think of it, it was a pretty stupid name.

Effie Trinket, some announcer and escort for the tributes walked up next. Said her whole stuff and whatnot, then reached into the girl's bowl. _Please, please, don't be Katniss. _I pleaded over and over again in my mind. And it wasn't. It was Dahlia. Dahlia Forender.

She walked up and I studied her. She wasn't from the Seam, quite the opposite, she looked like she was from a wealthy family, and then I remembered. She came from the richest family in District 12 other then the mayor's. Her father worked as a Peacekeeper, and her mother was something for the Capitol. She was 18, like me, and she was flawless, beautiful in all ways. She had flowing red hair down to the middle of her back, and she had light freckles across her nose. She was one of those gossip no nonsense at all teenage girls you see in school. A lot of the guys talked about her and I had to admit, she was a looker.

Effie Trinket asked for volunteers, and of course . . . nothing. Who would volunteer for her? She didn't have any sisters who could due to age and no one from the Seam would, that took up at least half of District 12. Inside, I was cheering. Katniss was safe and it was rare for someone like Dahlia to be picked. She never had to sign up for tessarae, **never**. She was one of those Capitol kids, and she would be sent to the very disgusting place she supported to fight to her death. Ugh, I despise the Capitol. But Effie Trinket was already moving on, to the boys' bowl. She reached in, pulled out a slip, looked at the name, raised her head and in her stupid, fake, cheery, Capitol-tinted voice that I hated said,

"Gale Hawthorne"

**Hey people! So I know this chapter was pretty boring but this was my first try on a Hunger Games fanfic, so please let me know what you think! Remember to review and I'll remember to update! I promise I'll reply to each and every review. Thanks and review people! **

**-mystic night92**


	2. Chapter 2: Goodbyes and Hellos

**A/N: I got the second chapter up, so if you like it, don't like it, or anything, REVIEW please!  
Oh and I forgot, Happy Late New Years! Let's make 2011 memorable, kay?  
****Disclaimer:**** Unfortunately, I don't own Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins does. I the only thing I own is Dahlia. BTW, I don't know if Gale should live and win, or die meaning . . . a loss, so please review to tell me your opinion. I also need tributes, so if you like, you can private message me or put a review, you can submit more than one tribute if you want. If you ****would**** like to submit a tribute, please include the tribute's name, description, age, and district. Or anything particular thing you want your tribute to do or something like that. Now, I'll stop talking and get on with the story!**

**Chapter 2: Goodbyes and Hellos**

**Gale POV**

_What?_ I was reaped for the 74th Hunger Games. Me, Gale, was reaped. _Oh come on Gale, it can't be that much of a surprise can it. Considering how many times you had to put in your name for tesserae. _That annoying voice in the back of my head chided me . . . again.

Someone shoved me, rather rudely in my back, which prodded me towards the stage. I jumped and finally got over the shock. I blindly walked up to the stage where Effie was inspecting me, for what reason I don't know. But she stopped pretty soon and asked for volunteers. Again, nothing. But, again I expected this. None of the boys would volunteer for me, and I told my mom to hold back the family if I was picked. And look where I am now.

Effie didn't seem to notice much of the awkward silence that seemed to be spilling off everyone who depended on my game; most of the Seam, the Hob, my family, and Katniss, my hunting partner. I didn't hear much other than give Dahlia the formal shake, keep a straight face for the camera like Katniss taught me one day in the woods, and let myself be marched off the podium.

The Peacekeepers led me and Dahlia to the Justice Building, inside into separated rooms. I waited there, knowing who most of my visitors would be. The moment the Peacekeepers left, in charged my family.

"Gale!" Rory and Vick came rushing towards me and tackled me in their largest bear hug they could manage. Mother comes in with Posy in her arms and comes to sit next to me. We just sit there, for the whole time, just reveling in our whole presence. When the Peacekeepers come in, tears are shed, as we all hug each other, saying goodbye, and a whole damn lot of feelings get stuck in my throat. Then they're gone, just like that. Out of here, away from me.

Next comes Katniss's mother and Prim. I raise my eyebrows as if to ask _Where's Katniss?_ to which her mother replies, "She'll come in next. I thought you two would want some time together." I nod my head to thank her and Prim crawls into me. Even though we aren't related, Katniss's family and I have molded together so that we're just one big family. I whisper reassurances to both of them, and Prim looks like she's on the verge of crying. They leave pretty soon, then Katniss comes in.

Without any words, we just hug each other. That's all we need. No words, none. Katniss mumbles something, and I look at her face. "Here, take this as your token. Do you remember, it's our wooden and metal pins." I look at what she gives me and laugh humorlessly. It is our wooden metal pins. On the day we established ourselves as hunting partners, we made little pins out of wood for each other and used metal to fashion the back. So I made Katniss's and she made mine. The one I was holding was the one I made for her. And now she was giving it back to me, as a reminder of District 12, hunting, and her. As I think this, I clutch the pin closer to my chest.

"You can win, you know. You're a hunter, and you can feed yourself. If you can, get a bow. Make some snares, and you'll be fine along food terms. You can fight them, Gale. You're one of the most passionate people I've met, and you can beat them with that. Your fire can spread, and you can win. Promise me, Gale. Promise me you'll try your best to fight and come home to me." Katniss looks up at me after her speech with pleading eyes.

"I promise." And we just stay there until the Peacekeepers come and take even her away from me.

**Dahlia POV**

_I _got reaped? I can't believe it! I am not a Seam child, I do not get reaped for these Hunger Games. What the hell is the Capitol thinking? Daddy said that he paid Effie Trinket _not _to choose me, and Mommy said she made sure none of my slips were in there. So like I said before, what the hell are they thinking if they can make me go to the Capitol like I'm a just a piece of shit in their Games.

Nonetheless, the Peacekeepers led me to the Justice Building so **I **could say my goodbyes. My family came and fed me all that crap about being so sad that I'm going, but I knew better. They couldn't wait to get e out of the house could they? So I got marched to the train and into it.

_Well, _I thought, _if you did have to get reaped, at least you're going in with that supermodel of a guy, Gale, as your district partner. _And a smirk spread itself across my face.

**Gale POV**

After Katniss left, it wasn't long until they marched me into the train station. Cameras and microphones were everywhere and my face went into the same mask it had on the stage. As we were marched around and into the train did I realize two things. One, because of that promise to Katniss, I knew I **would **have to try my best in winning these Games, for her. And second, as I watched District 12 roll away into the fog, it was goodbye everything I knew, and hello to the dangerous Hunger Games.

**A/N: So what do you think so far? If you didn't read the top, here are some reasons you should review. 1) Tell me anything you think of the story. 2) Tell me if Gale should live or die. And 3) Tell me what kind of tribute you would like to have in the Games. So review people and to all those tributes out there, "May the odds be **_**ever**_** in your favor!"**


	3. Chapter 3: The Tributes

**A/N: So, since it's been like forever since I updated, you can shoot flames at me all you want and I won't blame you. I am soooooooooo sorry that you had to wait this long for an update, and I'm sure you all hate me. Now, if anyone wants to put their opinion in if Gale should win, lose aka die, or if Gale **_**and **_**Dahlia should win, please vote on the pole on my profile.**

**Disclaimer: Now, if I were Suzanne Collins, I wouldn't have to do this, so obviously… I don't own the Hunger Games.**

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**Chapter 3:The Tributes**

**Gale POV**

Once I was led to my room by none other, the drunken Haymitch, I closed the door in his drunken face and collapsed onto the bed. They would collect me for dinner so in the meantime; I might as well do _something_! So, I sat up to take a closer look at my token. It was a crudely carved wooden circle with a wolf engraved on it. The back was just a metal pin that I got from my non-Seam friend, Malik. That was it, nothing special to anyone but me and Katniss.

I tilted the pin so that I could see the wolf better. I recognized it instantly and laughed at the irony of it. This wasn't just any wolf, this was a mutated wolf. That's right, one of those mutt animals from the Capitol! What was it called again? A wollion, I think. A wolf and lion. Oh yeah, now I remember! These were the mutts that showed how damn stupid the Capitol was!

One day, some doctors were getting rid of the animals from one Hunger Games. It was _way _back, before they used mutts. It was like a single digit number Hunger Games! So anyway, some idiot doctor took a syringe that was supposed to be for the **victor **to draw out some poison in their veins**, **and stuck it in a male wolf, drawing out his blood. When the doctor realized his mistake, he apparently freaked out and staggered all over the room, accidentally injecting the blood into a lioness. The lioness gave birth to the two first wollions, since she had twins. Since then, doctors have been injecting wolf blood into lionesses, making a whole colony of wollions. After a while, they grew bored and left their experiments in the wild, hoping they would die out. Of course, they're still thriving today, and are now used in Hunger Games. Wonderful, right?

But how did such a prefect picture of a wollion get on this stamp, I mean, I was so inexperienced when we made these! Then I remembered. One of Katniss friends, Madge, the mayor's daughter, had a whole collection of mutt stamps. So we decided to mark the pins with the wollion one. Ha, wonderful.

I hear Effie knock on my door and tell me that it's time for dinner. I sigh and pocket my token. As I'm about to open the door, I decide to change. No point in being uncomfortable, right? So I turn back, open the drawers, and pick out a more comfortable suit. Once I changed, I retrieved the pin from my other outfit and pinned it right over my heart. Then, I walked to dinner.

When I got there, I saw that Dahlia and Effie were already there as well.

"Where's Haymitch?" I ask Effie as I sit down across from her and to the left of Dahlia.

"Our wonderful victor is still in his room, doing Snow knows what!" Effie shrieks out as she digs into her meal.

I sense Dahlia looking at me, so I look at her and raise an eyebrow at her. She just rolls her eyes and turns back to her meal. I dig in too, and a burst of flavors come forth.

This is the most flavorful, rich, colorful food I've ever eaten! What is up with Capitol and treating the tributes like this? Are they trying to kill us by stuffing us up like pigs? Because I swear, the food just keeps coming and coming. And as much as I'd love to keep eating and trying this stuff, I'm already way past my boundaries of a full stomach.

Finally, Haymitch has come into the room and plops down in the seat next to me. He looks around groggily and says, "Well, how's everyone doing?" Effie and Dahlia just roll their eyes at him and I scoff. How the _hell _am I supposed to survive these games if my mentor is a pile of drunken crap! I mean, look at him! He can't do **anything!**

"Oh, will you look at the time? It's time to look at the recap of the Reaping! Let's go kids." Effie trills at us as she prods us into a room next to the one where we just ate dinner.

Dahlia rolls her eyes, _again, _for being called a kid, but plops down onto the sofa. I sit next to her as the TV is turned on.

The announcer has just finished introducing the mayor of District 1 and the escort comes up as well. I don't really want to go into detail, but here are all the tributes:

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**District 1**

Amethyst-Opal Terry-15, Bronze hair, violet eyes, tall, fast runner, typical Career, volunteer, definitely not killed at bloodbath, may win  
Iron Kan-18, Dark brown hair, grey eyes, tan, shorter than Amethyst, but still tall, very muscular, another typical Career, volunteer, definitely not killed at bloodbath, may win

**District 2**

Rose Cheen-13, Blonde hair, blue eyes, short, amateur Career, forced volunteer by parents, not likely to be killed at bloodbath, not likely to win  
Harley Cheen-16, Blonde hair, hazel eyes, average height, very Career, happily volunteered, Rose's brother, definitely not killed at bloodbath, may win

**District 3**

Sarah Peret-16, Brown hair, brown eyes, nerdy, glasses, most likely to be killed at the bloodbath  
Oran Ptyl-18, Black hair, green eyes, bit less nerdy than Sarah, bit tall and lanky, still likely to be killed at bloodbath

**District 4**

Elle Hirall-12, Red hair, grey eyes, short, tan, non-volunteer, not likely to be killed at bloodbath  
Elliot Yew-15, Dirty blonde hair, brown eyes, average height, tan, pretty muscular, semi-Career, volunteer, not likely to be killed at bloodbath, not likely to win

**District 5**

Jenna Stellar-14, Brown hair, brown eyes, tall, pale, most likely to be killed at bloodbath  
Jack Stellar-14, Brown hair, brown eyes, average height, pale, not as likely to be killed at blood bath, definitely won't win, Jenna's twin

**District 6**

Hash Rei-12, Black hair, grey eyes, average height, most likely to be killed at bloodbath  
Sorren Qui-18, Brown hair, black eyes, tall, not likely to be killed at bloodbath, somehow dreadful to have Hash as his district partner

**District 7**

Kursten Tass-17, Brown hair, green eyes, average height, not likely to be killed at bloodbath, not likely to win  
Richard Paine-13, Brown hair, blue eyes, tall, most likely to be killed at bloodbath

**District 8**

Saffron Hayes-16, Blonde hair, green eyes, short, freckled, not likely to be killed at bloodbath, not likely to win  
Gallagher Fey-15, Brown hair, hazel eyes, average height, kinda muscular, not likely to be killed at bloodbath, not likely to win

**District 9**

Lark Ail-18, Dirty blonde hair, hazel eyes, short, skinny, scared, most likely to be killed at the bloodbath  
Felix Randolph-14, Brown hair, green eyes, average height, sturdy, not that likely to be killed at the bloodbath

**District 10**

Trinity Wessta-14, Red hair, brown eyes, tall, confident, not likely to be killed at bloodbath  
Collin Greanuin-17, Red hair, green eyes, average height, in shock, most likely to be killed at bloodbath

**District 11**

Mareua Copperworth-17, Long light brown hair, hazel eyes, tall, tomboy, reminds me of Katniss, not likely to be killed at bloodbath  
Klan Vanzetti-17, Dark brown hair, brown eyes, tan, tall, pretty decent muscles, not likely to be killed at bloodbath

**District 12**

Dahlia Forender-18, Red hair, green eyes, freckled, average height, I still don't know what to make of her, hopefully killed in bloodbath, I don't want to have to kill my own district partner  
Gale Hawthorne-18, me, from Seam, I think you already know

So, this is my competition.

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**A/N: Personally, that kinda sucked. Next chapter is going to be the opening ceremonies, training, and possibly interviews. Hopefully, I'll have it up by Wednesday, so look forward to it! Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4: Meeting Portia

**A/N: Thanks to bookwormium13, sassyk100, and Maxniss Everide for the tributes! Thanks to all you subscribers, favoriters, and readers! And thanks for sticking with me even though I have some serious mental problems when it comes to updating! Here's the story!**

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**Ch 4: Meeting Portia**

* * *

**Gale POV**

We finally made it to the Capitol! Yay! That was major sarcasm by the way. Apparently, we were scheduled to meet with our stylists straight away. Our dear mentor told Dahlia and I "don't resist the stylists, no matter what". Who knows what the hell that means? And yeah, we actually managed to get some valuable advice out of him!

_(Flashback)_

"Haymitch, you're supposed to help us, right?" We were at breakfast this morning and I was surprised when Dahlia spoke so directly.

"Mmmhmm," the drunk replied. "Well then, since you're supposed to help us, I'll make this simple for your drunken mind to comprehend. If you don't make all the right moves, give us all the right advice, there _will _be consequences. One _tiny _slip up, and my parents will have your drunken little ass in some deep shit and your privileges to buy that crap you always drink, it'll be gone faster than you can say 'hangover'. Do we understand each other, Haymitch?" Dahlia looked dead serious and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared a bit. However, Haymitch just stayed the same.

Bad idea. This made Dahlia _pi-issed. _She jumped, frickin' _jumped_, out of her chair and slapped Haymitch across the face, and he fell out of his chair! Unfortunately, he took his glass bottle with him, so now there were glass shards everywhere. But the fall got him woken up. He looked up and punched Dahlia so that she landed against the wall. The punch was so surreal; it was hard to believe he was just drunk a few moments ago. But the fact that he wouldn't pay attention to us got me riled up as well. As Haymitch got off the floor, I picked up one of the shards and threw towards him like one of my hunting knices, making sure my aim made my make-shift knife hit right above his head.

_That _got him startled even more. He narrowed his eyes at us and told us to stand side by side, a bit away from the table. He started circling us like a hawk and started to speak.

"You, girly, you gotta fix that attitude of yours if you wanna survive even the first day in the Arena. Fix it up. At home, you may be a spoiled, rotten, stuck-up princess, but here, you're just another tribute. Fresh meat for the Capitol to swoon over. Seam boy, how'd you come to look so fit, and throw something like that? You don't look like you lived in Seam conditions, but I know a Seam child when I see one. Wait, don't answer that.

"Now listen here. You two seem fit enough that you might be able to handle the fight, _might_. And for your appearances, well, I'm sure your stylists will make you look acceptable. Now, let's make a deal. I'll try to help you as much as I can, give you the right advice, but you don't object, no exceptions. You listen to everything I say and do anything I ask of either of you, and I mean _everything,_ and I'll stay sober enough to help you two out_. _Understand?" Dahlia and I nodded.

"Good. That order starts now. _No interfering with my drinking. _Got that?" We nod again. "Now go and wait for the train to stop at the Capitol, we'll be pulling into the station in a few minutes. Once there, you'll meet with the stylists for the opening ceremony. You're not gonna like what they do to you, but don't resist your stylists, no matter what it is. You'll need their help." Dahlia opens her mouth to protest on something but Haymitch interrupts her. "No protests. Remember the deal. Don't resist them. Now leave already." He shooed us out of the dining car and Dahlia and I separated.

_(End Flashback)_

Now I'm at the Capitol, riding up the elevator in the Training Center, where I'll be living until the Games start. I'm meeting with my stylist and my team now. Apparently, it's a woman named Portia, and a team of three.

I step out of the elevator and am met by three obviously Capitol, obviously _altered_ females. My fashion team.

"OH! Glanna, isn't he adorable?" The girl, and I say _girl _because she didn't look any older 20! – that was the closest to my right looked at the one that was the closest to my left.

"Why Vasi, he's _gooooooorgeous_!" My leftie woman answered to the rightie girl in this super high trilling goddamn **annoying **voice, worse than Effie's, which is saying something.

Apparently Glanna was the woman on my left and Vasi was the _girl _on my right. I have yet to find out who the center female is.

But damn, they were all so . . . _Capitol. _And when I say Capitol, I mean altered to an extent where you couldn't even tell how they naturally looked. But then again, wasn't it the same for all Capitol people?

Anyways, Glanna's whole body seemed to be based on the sea. She had blue skin, with hair that looked like real seaweed; it was even dripping water everywhere! She was wearing this weird dress with gill looking things on the sides of it, blue shoes with fish swimming around, some weird bracelets on her wrist, and a necklace with some beads.

Vasi was all orange and sunset-y. She had pink and orange tie-dye skin with an orange striped dress and black shoes. Her hair was all curly and bouncy, and her cheerfulness reminded me of Prim. She seemed to be the most preppy one of the group.

The last woman of my team, the one whose name I didn't know, looked like she'd been dripped in a bucket of black oil. Her skin was black-like really night colored black, her hair was black, her draping dress was black, her shoes were black, her bracelet was black, those things hanging from her ears were black, her necklace was black…I think you get it. But despite her appearances, I kinda liked her most right now, since she didn't seem to talk a lot. She also looks a lot like Glanna, the sea woman. At least, their faces look alike.

So, while I was assessing them, Glanna the sea woman and Vasi the sunset girl were still chatting away about who knows what. Something about this person's party and that person's outfit at this other person's party and the food at another person's party…. Snow! What's with Capitol freaks and parties?

Anyways, they were now leading me into the Remake Center, where there was all this stuff to apparently, make me look "presentable" for Portia. The place was big, filled with a lot of unrecognizable stuff. I might've been nervous, but nothing really passed through my mind except for one thought.

_This would take a while…_

* * *

_**Three hours later**_

_R-i-i-p! _

The feel of the fabric peeling away from my skin, and bringing lots of hair with it, was painful, to say the least. Vasi cringed when she saw my gritted teeth. "Sorry, Gale! You're just sooooo _hairy!_ Good news, though! This is the last one!" And with that, the last of the hair on my leg was ripped off.

I've been in the Remake Center for _hours _and I still haven't met Portia. According to my fashion team, she doesn't want to see me until these three have "addressed some obvious problems". So, they had me take a bath with some sort of concoction that they scrubbed all over my body, getting rid of whatever dirt was on me, as well as three layers of skin. After I was all dry, they draped me with a robe and made me squat down in a chair, where they started doing some sort of cutting crap with my fingernails. And now I'm here. They've been removing any body hair that grew on me for quite awhile now, and according to Vasi, I was now done with hair removal.

They stripped me of my robe and started slathering a lot of gunky gooey Capitol stuff on my skin, which burned like hell at first, but then it felt a bit refreshing… just a bit. After they finished covering me in that stuff, they made me stand in the middle of the room, circling me with little plier thingies, looking for any remaining hair.

Once their satisfied, Jia says they should call Portia. So, they start jumping up and down in excitement, swarming all about the room, saying stuff of how I'm going to look _sooooo _gorgeous and how I'm going to _looooooooove _my costume. Finally, they leave the room, to fetch Portia I suppose.

I want so badly to reach over and grab the robe to cover my body but I refrain myself. I know that Portia will only make me take it off again. I wait for a few minutes and then I hear the door to the room opening. I turn around and see a young woman walk in. Portia.

I'm struck by how oddly _normal _she looks, for someone from the Capitol that is. Her skin is clear of the Capitol's embellishments and the color of her dark hair seems to be natural. The only thing Capitol that I see on her are the streaks of golden amber on her eyelids, bringing out her eye color more. Even her clothes don't seem Capitol. She's wearing a simple brown shirt with black swirls, black pants, and tan boots, along with a necklace that looks like the skin of a snake. She doesn't look Capitol that much, which in my books, is very good.

"Hello Gale. I'm Portia, your stylist." Her voice isn't as altered as the rest of the Capitol people I've met, like Effie or Glanna or Vasi, or even Jia.

"Hello." I say cautiously, I figure that's careful enough to say.

"Just give me a moment, please." Portia's voice is gentle and soft, and she walks around me, examining every part of my body. She inspects me so thoroughly, I have to resist my impulse to put my hands in between my legs very _very _hard.

As she continues to look at me, I consider her and her lack of displaying Capitolness. I had expected someone more flamboyant as my stylist, someone older trying desperately to look young, looking at me like a piece of meat on a platter. So far, Portia has not met any of these expectations. Then I notice something. I have not seen Portia on screen before.

"You're new here, aren't you?" I blurt. "I don't think I've seen you around before." Most of the stylists are familiar and recognizable, constant in the ever-changing pool of tributes. Some have even been around my whole life.

"Yes, this is my first year in the Games." Portia says.

"So they gave you District 12." I say nonchalantly. The new stylists are almost always given to us; District 12, the least desirable of the Districts.

"I asked for District 12." The way Portia says this tells me that's all the information I'm going to get. "Now, why don't you put on our robe and we'll have a little chat?"

I gratefully pull on the robe to cover my body and follow her out the door into a lounge room. Two red couches face each other with a glass table in the middle. Three of the walls are blank and boring but the fourth is made entirely of glass, which overlooks the Capitol. If I didn't harbor such a great hatred to this city, I might've enjoyed the view.

Portia leads me to the red couches and pressed a button. I watch in wonder as the top of the table splits open and a meal comes out. Lunch.

_How nice it must be, to have food appear at the press of a button, _I thought, while surveying the spread in front of me. There was chicken in some cream with oranges, on top of some pearly white grains, tiny green peas and onions, flower-shaped rolls, and honey-colored pudding for dessert.

I think of how I would make this meal at home. Chickens are too expensive, so I'd have to settle for a turkey. A second turkey would have to be shot to trade for the orange and I'd have to substitute goat's milk for cream. We could grow peas in the garden, but I'd have to gather wild onions from the woods. The grain is unrecognizable to me, the tesserae from District 12 just turns into an unappealing mushy brown pile. I'd have to trade two or three squirrels to the baker for the fancy rolls. And the pudding, well, what's even in there? Days of hunting, gathering, and trading just for this one meal, and even then, it'd be a poor substitution of the Capitol's.

Again, I wonder how life would be if I didn't have to do anything but press a button for my meals. What would I do during the hours that I currently use to comb the woods for sustenance, when it came by so easily? What do the people in the Capitol do all day, besides decorating their bodies with hideous designs and waiting for a new shipment of tributes to roll in and _die _for these peoples' entertainment?

I look away from the meal and find Portia's eyes on me. "How despicable we must seem to you." She says.

I'm surprised. Has it shown on my face, or did she somehow read my mind? It doesn't matter though, because she's right. They are despicable, the whole rotten lot of them.

"Anyhow," continues Portia, "I think it's time we talk about your costume for the opening ceremonies, Gale. My partner, Cinna, is the stylist for your female counterpart, Dahlia. Cinna and I thought that we should dress you two in complementary costumes," says Portia. "As you know, it's customary to reflect the flavor of the district."

For the opening ceremonies, tributes are supposed to wear something that represents their District's principle industry. So, coming from District 12, Dahlia and I will be in some kind of coal miner's getup. Unfortunately, our costumes are never appealing to the eye, so every year, our tributes do not win the favor of the crowd. I brace myself for the worst.

"So I'll be in a coal miner suit?" I ask, hoping that it won't look _too _bad on me.

"Not exactly. Cinna and I both agree that the Capitol has seen enough of those outfits on District 12. We also agree that they aren't very memorable, and we want to make you two as memorable as possible. So, we decided to focus more on the coal this year." As soon as those words leave her mouth, I instantly think of that one year where our tributes were stark naked and covered in coal dust. _Please not that, _I pray, _anything but that. _

"And what do we with coal, once it's mined of course. We burn it." _What? _I think.

"Gale, you're not afraid of fire are you?" Portia asks.

_Oh, shit._

* * *

**A/N: Super long chap, just because I fail as an author who updates. I'm sooooooo sorry about that. I really hope you guys can forgive me. So, the next chapter will be up, hopefully, by next weekend the latest. Hope you guys liked it, and thanks for sticking by me!**

**PS- You can find the outfits for the fashion team on my profile. And please don't forget to vote on my poll for the outcome of this story as well! Thanks again for reading!**


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